i kno they get large. i kno they will eat smaller fish or what ever will fit into his mouth i kno there wate temp.. anything else thanks
looking to buy a spotted gar anything i should know about befor i get him??
- Thread starter mikeurbeck06
- Start date
mikeurbeck06;5059612; said:
It will top out a bit shy of 24" in captivity.
mikeurbeck06;5059612; said:
Start with feeders when its under 10"-12" then get it on foods such as fish fillets, shrimp, and pellets.
mikeurbeck06;5059612; said:
Keep the water in the 70-80° F range.
mikeurbeck06;5059612; said:
There's a 99.99% chance that you're getting a Florida gar if you're getting this gar from an LFS or other vendor. Just because its labeled "spotted gar" does not mean that is actually a spotted gar, so knowing the locality where it was collected is your best bet for a positive ID. For example, if you're catching it somewhere near you (Michigan), then you should be getting a spotted gar. I'm pretty sure that the only other gars that naturally occur near you are the longnose gar which looks very different from the spotted gar. Otherwise, true spotted gars are rare in the hobby but can be acquired from a few people here on MFK.
You'll want to have at least a 180 gallon aquarium for an adult spotted gar. It is best to avoid keeping gars with aggressive cichlids, slime-sucking fishes e.g. plecos, silver-colored fishes e.g. arowanas, most catfishes, and overly agressive/active fishes. Suitable tankmates include bichirs, South American lungfish, Australian lungfish, and other true gars.
As far as other care information goes, read the Gar Captive Care Guide section on the Florida gar; the same care applies to spotted gars, too.
yea and they are quite aggressive, i bought my spotted gar early last month. and it bit of the tail of my arrowana. Gar was about 18" and the sliver arrowana is about 14".
But pls here from more of the other MFKers! they sure have different exp to share.
But pls here from more of the other MFKers! they sure have different exp to share.
Rigil;5059755; said:
Based on where you are, I would say that you have a Florida gar since they are the most commonly available gar worldwide plus I'm pretty sure that spotted gars have yet to be imported to your country.
ok guys thanks yeah its not a spotted gar it is a florida gar and its only 9" right now hes in a 40 gal long and wide he seems to love it i have a 120 gal tall but its full of cichlids now lol so i may switch out my 40 gal for a larger longer tank soon but for now i think im in the clear when i bought him from the store he was only in a 20 gal soo it has a lil more leg room so to speak lol how do you tell the sex of a florida gar??
mikeurbeck06;5060062; said:
no way to definitively sex gars externally. requires examination of gross anatomy or chemical analysis of slime/blood sample--
--solomon
I recommend that you remove the pleco before it gets a chance to suck off some of the gar's slime coat which can lead to infections and death.